Power Point to accompany Module 4 b Chapter

Power. Point to accompany Module 4 b Chapter 6 Ethics and the law: employee rights and employee responsibilities

Lecture objectives § Define ethics and discuss some of the ethical issues in business today; § Discuss HRM legislation and risk management § Explain what industrial relations entail § Discuss issues pertaining to Occupational Health and Safety § Explain how the employment relationship can be managed to support healthy organisations Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) – 9781442517981/ Härtel l/Human Resource Management/2 nd edition)

Ethical issues in business today § Business ethics: The stance and standard of behaviour concerning morals and ethics that an organisation may adopt § Three ethical perspectives: 1. Traditional perspective: Organisation's primary obligation is to its shareholders 2. Human resource perspective: Organisation’s most valuable asset is ‘people’ 3. Societal perspective: Organisation’s primary obligation is to society Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) – 9781442517981/ Härtel l/Human Resource Management/2 nd edition)

Ethical responsibilities § Code of conduct: A company policy outlining company expectations and formal rules surrounding ethics, including legal implications and disciplinary action § Legality: All information pertaining to laws and legislation in the state or country. § Confidentiality: People have the right to have privileged information protected. § Integrity: Organisational members will operate and work with high levels of honesty, integrity and fairness. § Proficiency: Professional competence. § Professional loyalty: Organisational members support the profession not for personal gain. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) – 9781442517981/ Härtel l/Human Resource Management/2 nd edition)

Why people act unethically § Level of cognitive moral development § § Ethical climate § § Every person exerts different degrees of moral and ethical behaviour The ethical climate shapes the behaviour of employees (i. e. , company values and beliefs) National culture § Ethical norms are shaped by a country's culture and religion (e. g. , New Zealand v. Mexico) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) – 9781442517981/ Härtel l/Human Resource Management/2 nd edition)

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) –

Employment law § Employment relationship: The working relationship between employees and employers § § § Employment contract Psychological contract Employment law sets the minimum standards and conditions for employment in a given region § Due to the variety and complexity of employment options in Australia, it is important that all stakeholders in the employment relationship have a current and accurate understanding of employment law Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) – 9781442517981/ Härtel l/Human Resource Management/2 nd edition)

Employment law (cont’d) § Legal obligation § § HRM legislation § § The legal responsibility that an employer has towards employees (and vice versa) There are many Acts which relate to the employment relationship (e. g. , WRA 1996) Risk management § The process of measuring and assessing risk and developing systems to manage the risk successfully § The process of managing risk involves six phases Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) – 9781442517981/ Härtel l/Human Resource Management/2 nd edition)

The process of risk management Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson

Industrial relations § Industrial relations: The formal relations between management, employees, unions and the Government codified in work rules and agreements § The most difficult aspect about industrial relations is that it is constantly changing So, how can HR managers ensure that their information and resources are up to date? Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) – 9781442517981/ Härtel l/Human Resource Management/2 nd edition)

HR managers to constantly update their IR knowledge Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a

Occupational health and safety § OH&S: Refers to the health, safety and welfare of employees in the workplace. § Between June 2005 and June 2006, 690, 000 people were reported to have experienced a work -related injury or illness. § Workplace hazards can be physical or psychological § The costs of injured employees include: replacing injured employees; impact on colleagues; quality of product/service; relationships with stakeholders; job satisfaction; turnover; organisational outcomes Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) – 9781442517981/ Härtel l/Human Resource Management/2 nd edition)

Current OHS issues § Visual impairment § Repetitive strain injury § Back injuries § Mobile phones § Environmental hazards § Physicality § hazardous commodities § physical harm § psychological harm (e. g. , stress, job burnout, bullying) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) – 9781442517981/ Härtel l/Human Resource Management/2 nd edition)

Government regulation § OHS is covered under government regulations, and it is the responsibility of all employers to know the laws relating to employee wellbeing in the workplace. § As these laws are constantly changing, HR managers must update. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) – 9781442517981/ Härtel l/Human Resource Management/2 nd edition)

OHS related Victorian Acts for example. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a division of

Managing the employment relationship: Negotiation § Negotiation: The process of resolving disputes or conflicts between two or more parties, which can either be cooperative (win-win) or competitive (power/control issues). § The negotiation process: 1. Identify the conflict 2. Identify parties involved 3. Listen to each party’s opinion 4. Develop a list of alternatives 5. Select one of the alternatives 6. Formally document the decision Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) – 9781442517981/ Härtel l/Human Resource Management/2 nd edition)

Negotiation perspectives and mental models Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson

Just negotiations § ‘Just’ negotiations enhance the employment relationship and benefit everyone involved § For ‘just’ negotiations to occur, the principles of procedural, distributive and interactional justice need to be adopted § HR managers need to consider the thoughts and feelings of all involved before making important decisions Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) – 9781442517981/ Härtel l/Human Resource Management/2 nd edition)

The CHRM decision-making framework Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia

Step 1 Analyse environmental factors § Monitor/analyse data (past, present and future): § § Internal/organisational environment: § § Company's OHS expenditure and complaints increased significantly in the last three years Software engineering company consisting of 100 software engineers External environment: § Information technology era Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) – 9781442517981/ Härtel l/Human Resource Management/2 nd edition)

Step 2 Detect potential problem or opportunity § Increasing risks associated with computer operations § Unions inquiring about our OHS procedures § Lack of OHS training on the development of an information system § Minimal attention being paid to OHS procedures, no OHS framework § Have not been recording OHS activities Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) – 9781442517981/ Härtel l/Human Resource Management/2 nd edition)

Step 3 Verify/falsify potential problem or opportunity § Lack of OHS sense of responsibility in comparison to technical sense of responsibility § Increasing expenditure on OHS Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) – 9781442517981/ Härtel l/Human Resource Management/2 nd edition)

Step 4 Devise plan and success criteria § Need to train managers to meet the OHS legal obligations and OHS § Need risk management to avoid any OHS-related litigation § Train the software engineers on their OHS awareness and practices § Provide resources (e. g. time, money and training) to reduce computer-related injuries § Conduct human resource planning to identify OHS-driven future needs Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) – 9781442517981/ Härtel l/Human Resource Management/2 nd edition)

Step 5 Implement the plan § Risk managers to be appointed to reduce computer-related injuries and litigation § Risk managers to conduct OHS training for software engineers and other staff § OHS committee to be formed § Develop OHS policy and procedures § Provide graduate training which is endorsed by the Institution of Engineers, the Association of Professional Engineers Australia (APEA) and the Association of Consulting Engineers Australia Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) – 9781442517981/ Härtel l/Human Resource Management/2 nd edition)

Step 6 Evaluate against success criteria § Has the OHS compensation cost reduced significantly over the past two years? § Has the number of computer-related injuries been reduced significantly over the past two years? § Has productivity increased significantly over the past two years? § Have customer complaints reduced significantly over the past two years? Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) – 9781442517981/ Härtel l/Human Resource Management/2 nd edition)

Conclusion § Business ethics play an important role in organisations § HR managers must lead by example § Employment law sets the standards and expectations of minimum requirements § The law is always changing and HR managers need to be aware of these changes Copyright © 2010 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) – 9781442517981/ Härtel l/Human Resource Management/2 nd edition)